Pretty Good

Expected more

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

As far as remakes go, I thought this was a pretty solid update. It kept to the spirit of the original, but at the same time did its own thing. The acting worked well and I was actually surprised by the amount of gore it had. I didn't remember it being that gory when I first watched it. While it wasn't too gratuitous there was enough there to sate the gorehound in me. Overall, it was a good blend of jump scare moments, gore, and a fairly solid story. One of the few things I didn't like about it was the constant flashing imagery. At times, it made it hard to concentrate on what was going on and distracting. I adore the original. It's in my Top 3 favorite Vincent Price films. The fact I didn't feel like this was tarnishing the name of the original caught me a bit off guard. Looking back I wonder if maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much the first time I saw it. It was also around that time period when I was sick and tired of remake after remake coming out. I think I may have gone in with a bit of pre-conceived hatred before I even viewed it.I'm glad I threw it on and watched it. I really enjoyed it, way more than I was expecting. It's far from perfect, but it's a solid film that I'll watch again. With that being said, I still don't think it's as good as the original. There was a lasting fun creepiness about that one that still holds up, which I don't think this one quite delivers on the same level. My Rating: 7/10

This remake of the 50s classic horror movie is overall so so. I'll go over the things about it that I liked, then I'll list what I disliked about it. I liked the cast, I thought every actor did a pretty good job with their role, especially Famke. I thought she was the best and by far the most interesting person in the film. The plot has a few things in it you may not see coming, or at least I didn't. I was glad the film at least had a few surprises because I didn't want to watch a completely generic horror film. Now don't think that the entire film is original or interesting because it's not. There are many parts of the movie that are very predictable and really not all that good. One thing that I especially took notice of as being terrible was the special effects towards the end of the film. It's literally impossible for this movie to be scary when it's this predictable and the effects are so terribly done. This movie isn't one that I recommend seeing. I suggest watching a more worthy horror movie, one that's actually scary. 5/10.

House on Haunted Hill (1999): Dir: William Malone / Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher, Ali Larter: Barf bag embarrassment that never goes beyond its production values. The title is to evokes curiosity of the eerie sense of danger within the house, but viewers are only left with an eerie sense of stupidity for buying into it to begin with. Geoffrey Rush plays the owner of a chain of amusement parks where terror is the theme. He gives five individuals an opportunity to walk away with one million dollars if they can survive a night in his haunted house. Why not give five viewers that same cash for viewing this film? Apparently this house was built into an institution headed by a murderer whose spirit still dwells. From there it's a night of running, screaming and slaughter. Director William Malone allows everything to get away on him and his cast fare little better. Rush's Vincent Price impersonation is pitiful. Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, and Peter Gallagher also look dumb-ass foolish as morons who are murdered because they could not manage simple common sense to begin with. An actual Vincent Price film would be suitable entertainment as oppose to this. This is just graphic violence just for the sake of being depraved. The result here is a pointless gory garbage that should be crushed by a wrecking ball. Score: 2 / 10

Eccentric millionaire Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) throws a birthday party for his wife (Famke Janssen) at a haunted house that used to be an insane asylum before the inmates revolted and killed everyone inside. A group of strangers invited to the party are offered $1,000,000 each if they can survive the night in the house. As strange things start happening, the guests question whether Price is behind it all or if there really is some evil force at work in the house on haunted hill.Being a big fan of the original House on Haunted Hill, a classic B movie from William Castle, I had low hopes for this remake at the time it was released. I figured going into it that it would have the worst excesses of modern horror films (more violence, gore, nudity, F bombs every other word, clichéd jump scares, etc.). And while it certainly does have some of those things (although not to the degree I was dreading) it also has a lot of humor and a self-awareness about it that makes it fun to watch. The cast is pretty good with Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen the standouts. Their scenes together are the highlights of the movie. Chris Kattan is amusing but his part in the climax is the stuff of unintended comedy legend. Also love the nods to Vincent Price with Rush's character. The CGI effects aren't the best but that's a minor complaint in a movie like this. It's not scary in the least but it is entertaining, something it has in common with the original. Not bad for a remake of a classic.